A false start is better than standing still

​Long before I was preparing to run off to the woods to tackle tens of miles at a time, I was a high school sprinter. In fact, I once said if running involved covering a distance further than one trip around the track - count me out!

I guess times have changed....

I've learned there's a big difference between sprinters and endurance runners. Endurance runners pride themselves on being able to run all day - be the last one to stop. For sprinters, the quick start is important. Be the first one to get going.

I think life draws parallels from both. But I think sometimes we struggle more with adopting that sprinter's mindset.

Once or twice in my high school sprinting days I false started. I was so anxious to beat everyone out of the blocks that I took off running before the starter fired his starter's pistol.

I've become a big fan of attitudes that say I want to get this thing started before everyone else does.

The other day, a work colleague let me know she'd emailed a mutual contact to get a deal on a conference we're trying to send some folks to from Virginia. She had no idea I'd already worked something out with this contact.

She apologized; said she was just trying to take something off my plate. I told her no apology necessary - I LOVE people who false start in the name of making things happen.

For me, it's much easier to fix false starts than it is to get someone going who is standing still.

False starts say eager. Standing still says I'm not sure about this.

Srini Rao says, "A false start is better than standing still. You'll make mistakes, but you'll also learn things you didn't know before. You'll be further along than if you had done nothing at all."

Isn't that the truth?

We always learn something when we do something. We always learn nothing when we do nothing. Sometimes we de-value the opportunity to learn while we foolishly wait on the perfect place to start.

Well, starting is the perfect place to start. Just start. In fact, be so anxious to start that sometimes you just might false start.

Take comfort when you do. After a false start, you've learned something the person standing still will likely never learn.

What's something you've been waiting for the perfect day to start? Let me encourage you: today is the perfect day. Quit prioritizing perfection, start prioritizing the chance to learn.